Gerrans also crashed at the end of stage two, which McCarthy won to give him the overall lead for a day.

He then roared back to form by winning stages two and three – the first rider in six years to win successive stages at the Tour – and also take the overall lead.

Gerrans held onto the ochre leader’s jersey as Porte improved to second overall with his barnstorming stage-five win at Willunga.

McCarthy finished fourth overall at 20 seconds in a breakout week for the 23-year-old.

Asked if he felt the last week had banished 2015’s woes, Gerrans replied: “It’s definitely a step in the right direction.

“Looking back, in 2014 I had such a fantastic year and in 2015, nothing seemed to go right.

“We’re back on the right track for 2016 already and I really couldn’t have asked for a much better way to kick off the season.”

Ewan bookended the Tour for the team by winning the first and last stages.

He also won the one-off street race a week ago that starts the Tour Down Under week.

The Tour represented an ideal start to the year for Orica-GreenEDGE.

“Clearly, we were the most motivated, well-prepared (team) and we really wanted it more than anyone else,” White said.

– AAP

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